Julen Lopetegui bid a fond farewell to Sevilla after his sacking and said he departed having earned "respect" for his achievements at the club.
The former Spain boss was dismissed by the LaLiga outfit after their 4-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday, with the decision having been widely expected ahead of the game.
Since he arrived at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Lopetegui had rebuilt his reputation, following an abrupt dismissal from the Spain national team job ahead of the Russia 2018 World Cup and a poor subsequent stint at Real Madrid.
He guided the club to the 2019-20 Europa League title, but poor form this term has seen him pay the price. Argentinian Jorge Sampaoli is widely expected to step in as his successor.
Speaking after his departure, the 56-year-old Lopetegui was philosophical about his three-year tenure.
"One does not choose what happens in life," he said. "There is a saying that one has to learn to dance in the rain, not wait for it to end. I think that's how it is. Things happen and one has to adapt. I think I do my best.
"The feeling that comes to my mind is to wish the best of luck to Sevilla, the club, the players and their wonderful fans. I was lucky [to be here].
"I believe respect is not given away; respect is earned with attitude, with work, and sometimes with or without success. This is life.
"In the end, I think people know how to see the dedication, the responsibility and the success we have had. That respect, we take with us, my staff and I. We take it with us forever."
Lopetegui explained his appreciation for the club's exacting demands on players and coaches, from supporters to the boardroom.
"In the end, life and football, as I told the players, have many similarities, and many times what one takes away from the places where they have been is the love and recognition of what you have done," Lopetegui said.
"I think that is something that personally fills me with pride and makes me happy within the sad situation that I have.
"Obviously, the Sevilla fans are very demanding fans, as we have always said, and I think they are also one of the great assets of this club, because that demand means that everyone is always on their toes from the beginning.
"That means that everyone is hierarchically like this, it means that in the end we have all given the best of ourselves to achieve these historic years."
Jefferson Lerma to join Crystal Palace after Bournemouth exit
Crystal Palace have agreed terms with Colombia midfielder Jefferson Lerma on a three-year deal.
The 28-year-old will join the Eagles on July 1 when his current Bournemouth contract ends.
“I am very happy and excited by this new opportunity,” Lerma told the official Palace website.
“Crystal Palace has good players and a good team, and I want to help with every objective the club has next season.”
Palace chairman Steve Parish said: “Jefferson is a strong addition to our squad.
“He is a proven performer at Premier League level, and his combative and competitive nature will endear him to the Palace fans.”
Lerma made a £25million switch to Bournemouth from Levante in August 2018 and made 184 appearances in five seasons with the Cherries. He has won 33 caps for Colombia.
Expanded competitions threaten well-being of ‘pushed to limit’ players – report
The expanded Champions League and Club World Cup pose a threat to the well-being of players who are already being “pushed to the limit” in the current calendar, according to a new report.
The men’s Player Workload Monitoring (PWM) report for the 2022-23 season from world players’ union FIFPRO has projected that changes to both competitions from the 2024-25 season could lead to an 11 per cent increase in the number of matches top players are involved in.
It looked at the example of Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota, whose 64 games for club and country in 2021-22 could rise to 72 in 2024-25.
The new 36-team Champions League would involve a team playing up to 17 matches from the league phase through to the final – four more than the current 13.
The new 32-team Club World Cup, due to be played every four years from the summer of 2025 onwards, could involve seven extra matches for the teams reaching the final.
The tournament has the backing of the European Club Association, but the World Leagues Forum – currently chaired by Premier League chief executive Richard Masters – is opposed to the plans.
The PWM report said: “The Club World Cup is expected to take place in June-July, which is just after the end of the long club season for the majority of participants.
“This will undoubtedly further decrease the off-season rest period for many players and raise concerns about their ability to fully recover in time for the new season. In addition, high travel load will also be associated to the tournament.
“The reforms of the two major tournaments will ultimately increase the number of games played by top players who could conceivably feature in both.
“This poses a threat to the well-being of players who are already pushed to their limit with the current international match calendar.”
The report found Manchester United and Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes played 74 per cent of his matches ‘back to back’ – without a gap of at least five days in between, including 20 consecutive back-to-back matches.
Chelsea’s January recruit Enzo Fernandez played 70 per cent of his matches back to back.
That was despite the midfielder having no off-season rest at all last summer, having played a first friendly for Benfica just eight days after competing in the Copa Libertadores for Argentinian club River Plate.
He also only had a nine-day break between featuring in the World Cup final for Argentina and reporting back for club duty.
The report also compared the workload of young players from the current generation to their predecessors.
It found England midfielder Jude Bellingham has already played 14,445 minutes in his professional career before the age of 20, while Wayne Rooney had only played 10,989 minutes before his 20th birthday.
Liverpool buy back their former Melwood training ground for women’s team to use
Liverpool have bought back their former Melwood training ground for their women’s team to use.
The men’s first team vacated the site in West Derby in the city in November 2020 for a new build at their existing academy base in Kirkby.
Amid local protests, proposals were in place for the land to be turned into a modern, multi-generational housing complex by affordable housing group Torus but after the Robbie Fowler-Jamie Carragher academy moved in plans started to change, which has ultimately resulted in the club re-purchasing their former home.
As part of the move, the crest of the LFC Women’s team, which has previously trained at Tranmere’s base on the Wirral, will move to the official club crest to closer align the two operations.
“This is a truly historic moment for Liverpool Football Club and the continued desire of the LFC Women’s board to elevate and develop our women’s first team and category one professional game academy,” said Liverpool’s managing director Andy Hughes.
“We also have an opportunity to further develop the use of the site to support the local community by using it as an additional base for LFC Foundation.
“We are delighted that FEFA (Fowler Education and Football Academy) will continue to use the site for its college that provides sport and educational opportunities for young people.
“We have always taken the views of the local community seriously and we look forward to re-engaging with them in the near future.”
Torus will use the funds from the sale of Melwood to build much-needed homes across Merseyside.
Developments also continue apace at Anfield where the 282-tonne roof of the old Anfield Road stand has been removed to make way for the completion of the new stand which is due to open for the start of next season and expand the ground’s capacity to 61,000.
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